Florence continues to amaze us and I wish we had more time here. Yesturday a lot of things were closed (again). We visited Museo del Bargello in the morning, which holds almost nothing but artifacts and primarily, sculptures. The whole purpose of that visit was to see Donatellos "David". It is... smaller than I thought it would be. But it is bronze and stunning none the less. We ate more pizza at a wine bar and then visited the Duomo church. All I have to say is that it is much more stunning on the outside than on the inside. From there, we came back to take naps before going to the train station and waiting in line again for an hour. There have been so many transportation strikes going on while we have been in Europe. The train workers were on strike in France, then the taxi drivers in all of Italy last week, and now the train workers here in Italy. Highly irritating when you rely upon public transporation... Today has been fabulous. We had to wake up really early to wait in line at the Galleria dell Academia (another museum) at 7:45 for its opening at 8:15. But it was entirely worth it. Inside this Galleria is Michelangelos "David". As I turned the corner into the domed room where the statue is held, I truly felt that I was looking at the most magnificent piece of artwork in existence. The sculpture is HUGE and along with its size, is entirely glorious. Everything from ankle bones to arm veins are sculpted with such preciseness. Nothing compares to this sculpture. So in case youve never seen it, dont worry. I snuck 2 pictures. Although they really dont do justice to it. Unfortunatly, we didnt have much time to see anything else. At 9:30, we just barely caught our bus to the Greve region south of Florence. South Florence to north Siena is a region known for Chianti wine. We took a taxi from the bus station to the Villa Vignamaggio vineyard. The villa is not only a winery, but a small inn as well. It was built in 1280 and is the birthplace of Mona Lisa (Da Vincis model...). Also, if you have ever seen the 1993 movie version of "Much Ado About Nothing" (Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson), most of the scenes (particularly garden, party and courtyard) were filmed there. It is a beautiful plot of land set on a hill in Tuscany. We had a wonderful tour of the gardens, courtyard & cellar before we sat down for a gourmet lunch and wine tasting. And after a few glasses of wine, we thought it would be an excellent idea to buy bottles and carry them home..... Tomorrow we have tickets to the Uffizi museum bright and early. But it is considered to be one of the greates museums in the world. It also contains Botticellis "The Birth of Venus", which Rachel spent a week of her life writing a paper on last year. We then have to catch a 12:30 train to Venice. Rachel and I cancelled our second Switzerland leg, so we will be returning to London on Friday the 21st before returning home on the 25th. One week from today! Better get my room ready, mom.....